During the match one of the tractors lost a vital part of machinery. It was

found again by one of our keen detectorists, and returned to the relieved tractor driver.

THE ROBIN & KAROLYN HATT Memorial Trophy Competition 2013

The best artefact going to the late Eddie Benniman for his gold Viking ring. Very well done Eddie, and a big thank you from the Swale Search & Recovery club

to Eddie’s family for putting forward the artefact on his behalf.

UXB FOUND IN FARMER’S FIELD

January begins on a precarious note when a bomb was unearthed in a Meopham field.

On seeing what she thought was a bomb or missile Jacq looked to her detecting partner Trevor.

He was far away at the other end of the field so Jacq picked up the object and walked it across.

Holding it up she shouted “I think I’ve found a bomb.” As she got nearer Trevor could see that

indeed it could be and told her to put the thing down.

“What do we do now’’..we can’t just leave it here” Jacq said.

They called the Police and gave a description. Half an hour later two officers arrived.

“We need to inform the bomb squad” was their response.

The four waited in anticipation and excitement. Daylight went and the air temperature fell

to a measly 1 degree, but they braved it.

The bomb disposal unit arrived from their base at Folkestone

and were led over to the offending article by torch light .

An X-Ray was taken of the bomb and studied on screen to determine whether or not it was still Live.

The conclusion was reached that it may not have fully discharged and so was placed carefully inside

a special box to be taken away and subjected to a controlled explosion somewhere more remote.

The soldiers thanked jacq and Trevor and warned of the danger of handling such things.

They identified the object as a German 1 kilogram incendry bomb. They explained that some have

a slightly longer base which holds a secondary booby trap device designed to explode when held.

What a lucky escape!

WOODEN SPOON AWARD

A new competition came into being this year, to be held each month

along side the Finds competition. It will be awarded to the most diverse

or unusual find made that month by the club members.

The trophy at the end of the year will be a very large wooden spoon.

The first contender of the year is Jacq le Breton with the incendiary bomb featured below.

WEDDING RING RETRIEVED This very lucky lady, Natasha, was reunited with her wedding ring almost a year after she lost it on a playing field. She told us that she had looked every day for the ring for about 6 months before finally giving up hope. Then, quite by accident she was handed a newspaper article to read, to the left of which was another story about a Lost Find made by metal detectorists. This was surely a sign she thought and immediately contacted the club (which happened to be us) We arranged to meet Natasha at the playing field and began to search. It took only 2 hours to find the ring. Reg, pictured 2nd from the right, shouted out “I think I’ve found the ring.” You can probably imagine the surprise and momentary disbelief that Natasha displayed. It is moments like this that make what we do as detectorists all worth while.

DARREN & MICK STRIKE GOLD

On a cold October day this year Darren and Mick managed to find this gold wedding ring

for local couple after the lady had lost it in her garden.

They had contacted the club after watching the new Metal Detecting series on the TV,

hoping they could help them.

She was surprised and delighted to be reunited with lost jewellery again.

LOST FARM MACHINERY On a baking hot August day, two of our club members offered their services to find a piece of machinery for a farmer in Meopham. The article in question, a disc, had fallen off an antique plough. The antique machine had only managed a few trips up and down the vast field, so finding the missing blade did not take too long.

Having located the disc under the soil the pair, Trevor and Jacq, dug around it and heaved it out of the ground. It was extremely weighty and took the two of them to carry it uphill and back to the boot of the car.

The farmer was delighted because parts from antique machinery can be very difficult, if not impossible to replace.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG 2015/16

During September 2015 work began on a remote field in Thanet, Kent and revisited in the autumn of 2016.

The dig involved a preparatory evaluation of a site believed to go back to very early Roman times.

Geophys had initially been carried out on a small scale with walkers and detectorists and further trenches in more specific areas being worked in 2016. Detectorists from our club and from a more local club were involved in the two events with many interesting finds relevant to the timescale in mind being retrieved.

TALKS

Once a month there is a talk given by a guest speaker or by our resident speaker Alan Bradshaw. The talks cover various metal detecting related subjects and are both informative and fun.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG 2016

Club members attended a further dig near Charing. There were some terrific finds including a hoard of approximately fourteen Roman coins and these beautiful Bronze Age weapons.

FUND RAISING BOOK AUCTION

In July 2016 we held a fund raising auction of the late Eddie Benniman’s metal detecting book collection. The event was very well attended and raised the grand total of £175.

The money was then presented to the Heart of Kent Hospice

at the specific wishes of his family.

OPAL AWARD

End of year award

Just for fun there will be a certificate awarded for a find relating to the club’s anniversary.

This year the Swale Search & Recovery club enters its 34th year, with the traditional historical gift for that year being Opal

A specially designed club certificate will be given to lucky finders of Opal related finds such as an opal ring or opal encrusted brooch etc. A small trophy for the best or only find of this nature will be awarded to the winner.